A few days after declaring last season too awful to properly describe, Blue Jackets forward R.J. Umberger ended it by scoring nine goals in the final nine games.

It was an overdue run of production that served as a reminder of the potency of the beleaguered left winger.

And it remains powerful motivation.

“The finish is all I can think about,” said Umberger, who is expected to begin his eighth NHL season next to center Derick Brassard and opposite second-year right winger Cam Atkinson on the Blue Jackets’ top line.

“None of us want to get off to the bad start like last year,” Umberger said. “We can’t have any dead weight at the start.”

Umberger, Brassard and center Antoine Vermette were expected to provide the Blue Jackets with a sizable cushion of secondary scoring last season.

It never inflated when it mattered.

Vermette had three points in December and was traded to Phoenix at the February deadline.

Brassard followed a career season with a run of eight healthy scratches in 12 games in November and December. He had 12 points in the first 41 games before picking up his pace following the firing of coach Scott Arniel in January.

Umberger’s torrid finish gave him 20 goals for a fourth consecutive season, but he had just seven points in his first 26 games.

More will be required from Umberger and Brassard when the season begins on Saturday, especially in the absence of Rick Nash or any semblance of an All-Star point producer.

“Their season kind of went the way our season did as a team,” Blue Jackets coach Todd Richards said. “Not that I’m pointing the finger at them, because everybody that was involved in that should be pointing their fingers at themselves. (But) what I saw the second half of the season were two different players. We need those players that were there in the second half of the season.”

Umberger said he and Brassard have had the same discussion.

He wants to see more “swagger” from Brassard, who had 41 points and a minus-20 rating in 74 games last season and has yet to fulfill the potential the Blue Jackets saw when they made him the No. 6 overall pick in the 2006 draft.

“He wants to be the go-to guy,” Umberger said. “I think he’s ready to accept that responsibility. You can see it in him. He finished strong last year. He’s more influential in the locker room and he’s walking around like he’s been around the block a few times now.”

Umberger and Brassard spent much of the second half of last season skating together on a line with Nash.

But Umberger began to thrive when Richards replaced Nash with Atkinson in late March. Umberger had a hat trick the following game. That ended a six-game pointless streak.

The three goals were the first of Umberger’s 12 points in the final nine games.

“I saw a power forward that played like a power forward,” Richards said.

Umberger said it’s logical for the line to remain together. Atkinson had 10 points in the final six games, including five goals in the final two.

“I think we have a lot of chemistry,” Umberger said. “I am really excited about who I am playing with. My energy level is so high right now. I want to get going so bad.”

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